Artà
Encyclopedia
Artà is one of the 53 independent municipalities on the Spanish
Balearic island
of Majorca. The small town of the same name is the administrative seat of this municipality in the region (Comarca
) of Llevant.
of Artà had a population of 7,113 recorded residents within an area of 139.63 square kilometres (53.9 sq mi). This equates to 50.9 inhabitants per km². In 2006 the percentage of foreigners was 13.2 % (890), of which Germans made up 3.9 % (262). In 1991 there were still 136 illiterates in the municipality. 1,292 inhabitants had no education, 1,675 only a primary school certificate and 1,210 had secondary school leaving certificates. The official languages are Catalan
and Spanish
(Castilian). The Catalan dialect spoken on the island is known as Mallorquí.
in the eastern mountain chain of the Serres de Llevant, occupies more than half the area of the municipality. The municipality is located on the western part of peninsula
of Artà and is bordered in the west by the Bay of Alcúdia (Badia d’Alcúdia), and in the north by the Mediterranean sea where its coast lies opposite the neighbouring island of Minorca
. The coast of Artà stretches for 25 kilometres and, so far, has escaped being developed. Particularly noteworthy are the beach and sand dune formations of sa Canova d’Artà, the flat coastal strip near the settlement of Colònia de Sant Pere, the high rocky coves of the Cap de Ferrutx and a large number of smaller bays that extend from s’Arenalet des Verger to Cala Torta.
and Son Servera
. Until the 19th century both belonged, together with the district of Artà, to the so-called Peninsula of Artà. Hence why the caves on the east coast of Majorca in the municipality of Capdepera are called the Caves of Artà (Coves d' Artà).
To the southwest are the municipalities of Sant Llorenç des Cardassar
and Petra. The Torrent de na Borges, with its hamlet of Son Serra de Marina, forms the western border of Artà with the municipality of Santa Margalida
.
The figures in brackets give the population as at 1 January 2008. The first figure is the number of inhabitants in the main settlement, the second includes those living in 'scattered' dwellings outside the village itself. (Source: INE
)
The area of the Caps de Ferrutx, with its rocky coves provides the osprey
and peregrine falcon
, for example, an ideal refuge. The northern coastal region is also home to feral goats. In the valleys of the Massis d’Artà, also called the Serra Artana, there are small groves of holly oak, enclosed by dry stone walls, where almond, fig and carob trees are cultivated.
Orchards of olive tree
s predominate in the hills, growing on steep slopes retained by dry stone walls. Large beds of reed
are found amongst the natural vegetation along with fan palm
s (Chamaerops humilis) typical of the region, low clumps of luxuriant shrubs, wild olive trees and isolated pine woods
. The fan palm is still a primary raw material for the basket makers on Majorca.
This extraordinary landscape has been inhabited since the colonization of Majorca, as witnessed by the archaeological
finds in this area:Ses Païsses
and Sa Canova. They date from the time 1300-100 BC. The coins
, seals and vessels of the Talaiot
ic culture may be seen in the Artà Regional Museum at Plaça d'Espanya.
Little is known about the Artà region from the Roman or pre-Islamic period. It is believed, however, that the old fortress on the town's hill dates to before the Islamic-Arab possession of the island. In the Arabian era from the 10th to the 13th century and even during the early days of Catalan rule, the fortress was known as the Almudaina, which means something like "castle" or "fortress".
Today the one-meter thick fortress wall with its nine towers, including the main tower of Sant Miquel, surrounds the pilgrimage church of Santuari de Sant Salvador with its outbuildings. The church houses a multicoloured, carved, wooden, Romanesque
statue
of the Virgin Mary
which, according to the tradition of the White canons
was brought to the island by James I
during the conquest of Majorca.
A Calvary staircase of 180 steps links the parish church (Esglèsia Parroquial) of Transfiguració del Senyor at the foot of the town's hill with the 1832 baroque church of Sant Salvador on the 182-metre high Calvary Hill or Puig de Sant Salvador. The 1573 late Gothic style church of La Transfiguració replaced the ancient parish church consecrated in 1248 on the site of an earlier mosque.
During the Arab or Moorish
era the peninsula of Yartan was one of thirteen districts of Majorca. After the Catalan conquest of the island the present town of Artà emerged in the 13th century after the arrival of the Norbertines, or White Monks, who founded the Priory of Santa Maria del Bellpuig. The estate of Bellpuig is three miles southwest of Artà. From there, the present town area, the farms of Almudaina, were divided into lots and reallocated. The town was still called Almudaina in the 15th century, whilst the name Artà referred to the entire district.
From the 16th to the 18th century the population of the city rose sharply and, in addition to agriculture, it developed a textile industry. An outbreak of bubonic plague
in 1820 caused a setback resulting in 1200 deaths. In the 19th century the districts of Capdepera and Son Servera were separated from Artà. The greater part of the territory of Artà at that time was in the hands of big landowners. Among the small farmers the craft of basket making from palm leaves developed as an invaluable source of secondary income.
In 1880, the land at Devesa de Ferrutx on the Bay of Alcúdia was divided up and the coastal village of Colonia de Sant Pere was founded as an agricultural settlement. This quiet tourist resort has the second highest population in the municipality after the town of Arta.
The few villages in the municipality of Artà became well linked by roads in the 20th century, not least with a view to developing tourism which is now the most important industry on the island. Nevertheless, large parts of the area are still virtually unspoilt due to its sparse settlement, which led to the designation of the nature reserve Parc Natural de la Península de Llevant in the north of the borough of Artà. The railway line from Palma via Manacor
and Son Servera to Artà was opened in 1921 but no longer operates. However, there is a plan to re-open a service from Manacor which should start during the next legislative session.
Most striking is the enclosed nature of the settlement, with its steep narrow roads that begin at the foot of the hill, and are dominated by the medieval fortress walls of the pilgrimage
church of Sant Salvador at the top of the town. The terrace offers a panoramic view of the coast and the hills, the almond orchards, olive groves and the Torre de Canyamel, as well as the fortified Gothic parish church (Transfiguració del Senyor) immediately below the hill. From the side of the valley it looks particularly impressive with its high supporting towers. Inside, the wooden Majorcan pulpit and the altar with the Transfiguration of Christ are especially worth seeing.
The Regional Museum of Artà at the Plaça d'Espanya was founded in 1927 by a group of scholars from the town. Artefacts in the museum come from private collections. It is divided into an ethnological, natural history and archaeological departments. The ethnological division diplays the various tools used by the palm weavers working in the Llevant today. Also on display are tools of the Majorcan textile trades. The archaeological collection contains a variety of artefacts made of ceramic, bronze, iron and bone, mainly from Majorca's prehistory.
Artà has much to offer the visitor. Of particular interest is the coastal area of the municipality. Right on its border with Santa Margalida
, in the hamlet of Son Serra de Marina, is the beach of s'Arenal de sa Canova with its extensive dunes. A coastal path runs along the beach up to the village of s'Estanyol near Colonia de Sant Pere. Further east, between s'Estanyol and es Caló are steep cliffs and ravines alternate with small sandy beaches. The north of the municipality is dominated by the Massís d’Artà, with the hills Puig Morei (561m), Puig de sa Tudossa (444m) and Talaia Moreia (432m).
The hills fall steeply towards the north, but more gently north-eastwards towards towards the coast. In the northeast of the area several sandy bays have formed at the mouths of so-called torrent
s. On the coastal hills can still be found towers built between the 16th and 18th century. Nestling amidst the hills, is the Ermita de Betlem, a hermitage inhabited by a monks. Parts of the north coast are covered with pine forests.
s on the island of Majorca. The remains of braided and woven plant fibres have been found in archaeological digs here. The main raw material in the western Mediterranean area is the native fan palm
with its robust but flexible leaves. This one-metre-high species of palm occurs naturally on Majorca, especially between Manacor
and Artà, and today is grown in large fields around the town of Artà.
The leaves of the fan palm are collected in the months of June and July and first dried in the sun. When they have become a yellowish-white colour, they are separated into finer strands and sorted qualitatively. Next, the higher-quality palm strands are soaked in a mixture of water
and chlorine
, then sulphurised, which bleaches them further and makes them flexible enough to work.
The now soft leaves, called palmito, are then woven into the basic shape of the basket using fixed stems or leaves at right angles to one another. By re-drying the leaves, they contract slightly, giving the mesh extra stability and density. Using coloured leaves or special techniques elaborate patterns are created, sometimes woven into the basic mesh or sometimes into a second or even third layer.
The best-known products of the basket-weaving industry include baskets, hats, backpacks, bags, etc. From the waste material, stalks and leaf parts are broken down into fibres to make brooms and rope. The baskets are sold in many of the markets on the island.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Balearic island
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
of Majorca. The small town of the same name is the administrative seat of this municipality in the region (Comarca
Comarca
A comarca is a traditional region or local administrative division found in parts of Spain, Portugal, Panama, Nicaragua, and Brazil. The term is derived from the term marca, meaning a "march, mark", plus the prefix co- meaning "together, jointly".The comarca is known in Aragonese as redolada and...
) of Llevant.
Population
In 2008 the municipalityMunicipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
of Artà had a population of 7,113 recorded residents within an area of 139.63 square kilometres (53.9 sq mi). This equates to 50.9 inhabitants per km². In 2006 the percentage of foreigners was 13.2 % (890), of which Germans made up 3.9 % (262). In 1991 there were still 136 illiterates in the municipality. 1,292 inhabitants had no education, 1,675 only a primary school certificate and 1,210 had secondary school leaving certificates. The official languages are Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
(Castilian). The Catalan dialect spoken on the island is known as Mallorquí.
Location
Artà lies in the northeast of the island of Majorca, around 60 km from the island's capital of Palma. The Massís d’Artà, the highest and most compact massifMassif
In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole...
in the eastern mountain chain of the Serres de Llevant, occupies more than half the area of the municipality. The municipality is located on the western part of peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
of Artà and is bordered in the west by the Bay of Alcúdia (Badia d’Alcúdia), and in the north by the Mediterranean sea where its coast lies opposite the neighbouring island of Minorca
Minorca
Min Orca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....
. The coast of Artà stretches for 25 kilometres and, so far, has escaped being developed. Particularly noteworthy are the beach and sand dune formations of sa Canova d’Artà, the flat coastal strip near the settlement of Colònia de Sant Pere, the high rocky coves of the Cap de Ferrutx and a large number of smaller bays that extend from s’Arenalet des Verger to Cala Torta.
Neighbouring communities
To the east and southeast the municipality of Artà is bordered by the communities of CapdeperaCapdepera
Capdepera is a small municipality on Majorca, one of the Balearic Islands, Spain.Capdepera is a historical village just 8 km from Artà. Originally there had been a watchtower where the castle stands today which was used to guard the coast...
and Son Servera
Son Servera
Son Servera is a municipality in northeast Majorca, in the Balearic Islands, Spain.Founded in 1300 by James I of Aragon, in the lands of the Servera family, Son Servera was first documented in 1354 with the name of Benicanella, which would later become two towns: Son Fra Garí and Ca l'Hereu which...
. Until the 19th century both belonged, together with the district of Artà, to the so-called Peninsula of Artà. Hence why the caves on the east coast of Majorca in the municipality of Capdepera are called the Caves of Artà (Coves d' Artà).
To the southwest are the municipalities of Sant Llorenç des Cardassar
Sant Llorenç des Cardassar
Sant Llorenç des Cardassar is a small municipality on Majorca, one of the Balearic Islands, Spain....
and Petra. The Torrent de na Borges, with its hamlet of Son Serra de Marina, forms the western border of Artà with the municipality of Santa Margalida
Santa Margalida
Santa Margalida is a municipality with a population of 10,204 located in the northeast of the Spanish Balearic Island Majorca....
.
Subdivisions
The following villages are part of the municipality of Artà:- Artà (5803 / 6406)
- Colònia de Sant Pere (483 / 483)
- Urbanització Betlem (51 / 51)
- Urbanització Montferrutx (114 / 114)
- Urbanització Sant Pere (34 / 34)
- Urbanització s’Estanyol (25 / 25)
The figures in brackets give the population as at 1 January 2008. The first figure is the number of inhabitants in the main settlement, the second includes those living in 'scattered' dwellings outside the village itself. (Source: INE
Instituto Nacional de Estadística
Instituto Nacional de Estadística may refer to:*Instituto Nacional de Estadística *Instituto Nacional de Estadística *National Statistics Institute -See also:*National Institute of Statistics...
)
Natural regions
Eight moderate to high hills belong to the municipality of Artà, the Puig Morei (also Puig d’en Morell or Talaia Freda) at 561 metres being the highest and the Puig d'en Mir being the lowest at 256 metres. The municipality is characterized by extensive areas of uninhabited terrain, especially in the regions in the mountains of the Serres de Llevant. Today, this natural region has become very barren as a result of numerous forest fires in recent years.The area of the Caps de Ferrutx, with its rocky coves provides the osprey
Osprey
The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...
and peregrine falcon
Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
, for example, an ideal refuge. The northern coastal region is also home to feral goats. In the valleys of the Massis d’Artà, also called the Serra Artana, there are small groves of holly oak, enclosed by dry stone walls, where almond, fig and carob trees are cultivated.
Orchards of olive tree
Olive Tree
The Olive Tree was a denomination used for several successive centre-left Italian political coalitions from 1995 to 2007.The historical leader and ideologue of these coalitions was Romano Prodi, Professor of Economics and former leftist Christian Democrat, who invented the name and the symbol of...
s predominate in the hills, growing on steep slopes retained by dry stone walls. Large beds of reed
Reed bed
Reed beds are natural habitats found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions andestuaries. Reed beds are part of a succession from young reed colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground...
are found amongst the natural vegetation along with fan palm
Chamaerops
Chamaerops is a genus of flowering plants in the family Arecaceae , comprising a single species Chamaerops humilis , representative of the Pre-Pliocene paleo-tropical ancestral lineages in the area.-Distribution:It is the only palm species native to continental Europe...
s (Chamaerops humilis) typical of the region, low clumps of luxuriant shrubs, wild olive trees and isolated pine woods
Aleppo Pine
Pinus halepensis, commonly known as the Aleppo Pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. Their range extends from Morocco and Spain north to southern France, Italy and Croatia, and east to Greece and northern Tunisia, and Libya, with an outlying population in Syria, Lebanon, southern...
. The fan palm is still a primary raw material for the basket makers on Majorca.
Climate
Rainfall is recorded in Artà all year round. The driest month is July with an average of 8.8 l/m². October records the highest rainfall with an average of 101.3 l/m². 1945 was the wettest year with 224.3 :l/m².History
Artà was first mentioned in 1232 under the name Yartân in the Llibre de repartiment de mallorca (Jaume I). Later it was also written down as Jartan or Jertan. The origin of the name is derived from "Gertan", the Arab word for garden.This extraordinary landscape has been inhabited since the colonization of Majorca, as witnessed by the archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
finds in this area:Ses Païsses
Ses Païsses
Ses Païsses is a Bronze Age talayotic settlement on the southeastern outskirts of Artà in northwestern Majorca. It is one of the most important and best-preserved prehistoric sites in the Balearic Islands, although it is largely overgrown with woodland, mainly Quercus ilex , making it impossible to...
and Sa Canova. They date from the time 1300-100 BC. The coins
COinS
ContextObjects in Spans, commonly abbreviated COinS, is a method to embed bibliographic metadata in the HTML code of web pages. This allows bibliographic software to publish machine-readable bibliographic items and client reference management software to retrieve bibliographic metadata. The...
, seals and vessels of the Talaiot
Talaiot
The talaiots, or talayots, are Bronze Age megaliths on the islands of Minorca and Majorca forming part of the Talaiotic Culture or Talaiotic Period. They date from the late second millennium and early first millennium BC. There are at least 274 of them, in, near, or related to Talaiotic settlements...
ic culture may be seen in the Artà Regional Museum at Plaça d'Espanya.
Little is known about the Artà region from the Roman or pre-Islamic period. It is believed, however, that the old fortress on the town's hill dates to before the Islamic-Arab possession of the island. In the Arabian era from the 10th to the 13th century and even during the early days of Catalan rule, the fortress was known as the Almudaina, which means something like "castle" or "fortress".
Today the one-meter thick fortress wall with its nine towers, including the main tower of Sant Miquel, surrounds the pilgrimage church of Santuari de Sant Salvador with its outbuildings. The church houses a multicoloured, carved, wooden, Romanesque
Romanesque art
Romanesque art refers to the art of Western Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century, or later, depending on region. The preceding period is increasingly known as the Pre-Romanesque...
statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
of the Virgin Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
which, according to the tradition of the White canons
Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...
was brought to the island by James I
James I of Aragon
James I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276...
during the conquest of Majorca.
A Calvary staircase of 180 steps links the parish church (Esglèsia Parroquial) of Transfiguració del Senyor at the foot of the town's hill with the 1832 baroque church of Sant Salvador on the 182-metre high Calvary Hill or Puig de Sant Salvador. The 1573 late Gothic style church of La Transfiguració replaced the ancient parish church consecrated in 1248 on the site of an earlier mosque.
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
era the peninsula of Yartan was one of thirteen districts of Majorca. After the Catalan conquest of the island the present town of Artà emerged in the 13th century after the arrival of the Norbertines, or White Monks, who founded the Priory of Santa Maria del Bellpuig. The estate of Bellpuig is three miles southwest of Artà. From there, the present town area, the farms of Almudaina, were divided into lots and reallocated. The town was still called Almudaina in the 15th century, whilst the name Artà referred to the entire district.
From the 16th to the 18th century the population of the city rose sharply and, in addition to agriculture, it developed a textile industry. An outbreak of bubonic plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
in 1820 caused a setback resulting in 1200 deaths. In the 19th century the districts of Capdepera and Son Servera were separated from Artà. The greater part of the territory of Artà at that time was in the hands of big landowners. Among the small farmers the craft of basket making from palm leaves developed as an invaluable source of secondary income.
In 1880, the land at Devesa de Ferrutx on the Bay of Alcúdia was divided up and the coastal village of Colonia de Sant Pere was founded as an agricultural settlement. This quiet tourist resort has the second highest population in the municipality after the town of Arta.
The few villages in the municipality of Artà became well linked by roads in the 20th century, not least with a view to developing tourism which is now the most important industry on the island. Nevertheless, large parts of the area are still virtually unspoilt due to its sparse settlement, which led to the designation of the nature reserve Parc Natural de la Península de Llevant in the north of the borough of Artà. The railway line from Palma via Manacor
Manacor
Manacor is a town and municipality on the Mediterranean island of Majorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is one of the biggest municipalities in Majorca. It has tourist areas like Porto Cristo, site of the famous Caves of Drach, and Calas de Mallorca. Manacor...
and Son Servera to Artà was opened in 1921 but no longer operates. However, there is a plan to re-open a service from Manacor which should start during the next legislative session.
Culture and places of interest
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
church of Sant Salvador at the top of the town. The terrace offers a panoramic view of the coast and the hills, the almond orchards, olive groves and the Torre de Canyamel, as well as the fortified Gothic parish church (Transfiguració del Senyor) immediately below the hill. From the side of the valley it looks particularly impressive with its high supporting towers. Inside, the wooden Majorcan pulpit and the altar with the Transfiguration of Christ are especially worth seeing.
The Regional Museum of Artà at the Plaça d'Espanya was founded in 1927 by a group of scholars from the town. Artefacts in the museum come from private collections. It is divided into an ethnological, natural history and archaeological departments. The ethnological division diplays the various tools used by the palm weavers working in the Llevant today. Also on display are tools of the Majorcan textile trades. The archaeological collection contains a variety of artefacts made of ceramic, bronze, iron and bone, mainly from Majorca's prehistory.
Artà has much to offer the visitor. Of particular interest is the coastal area of the municipality. Right on its border with Santa Margalida
Santa Margalida
Santa Margalida is a municipality with a population of 10,204 located in the northeast of the Spanish Balearic Island Majorca....
, in the hamlet of Son Serra de Marina, is the beach of s'Arenal de sa Canova with its extensive dunes. A coastal path runs along the beach up to the village of s'Estanyol near Colonia de Sant Pere. Further east, between s'Estanyol and es Caló are steep cliffs and ravines alternate with small sandy beaches. The north of the municipality is dominated by the Massís d’Artà, with the hills Puig Morei (561m), Puig de sa Tudossa (444m) and Talaia Moreia (432m).
The hills fall steeply towards the north, but more gently north-eastwards towards towards the coast. In the northeast of the area several sandy bays have formed at the mouths of so-called torrent
Torrent
Torrent may refer to:Animals:* Torrent Duck, a species of the family Anatidae* Torrent frog, various unrelated frogs* Torrent salamander, a family of salamanders* Torrent Robin, a bird species* Torrent fishComputers and Internet:...
s. On the coastal hills can still be found towers built between the 16th and 18th century. Nestling amidst the hills, is the Ermita de Betlem, a hermitage inhabited by a monks. Parts of the north coast are covered with pine forests.
Churches and abbeys
- Pilgrimage church of Sant Salvador, surrounded by its dominating wall fortifications
- Parish church of Transfiguració del Senyor (Late Gothic with wooden Majorcan pulpit)
- Franciscan abbey of Sant Antoni de Pàdua (BaroqueBaroqueThe Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
church with barrel vaultBarrel vaultA barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve along a given distance. The curves are typically circular in shape, lending a semi-cylindrical appearance to the total design...
) - Priory of Santa Maria del Bellpuig (Abbey of the Norbertine canonsPremonstratensianThe Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...
) - Ermita de Betlem hermitage (9 kilometres northwest of the town, in the hills)
Museums and exhibitions
- The regional museum, Museu Regional d’Artà, Carrer Estrella 4, on the Plaça d’Espanya next to the town hall
- Town hall of Na Batlessa in the Carrer de Ciutat (community hall with exhibition rooms and library)
- Teatre d’Artà, theatre for around 460 people (since 2001)
Structures
- Steps to the CalvaryCalvaryCalvary or Golgotha was the site, outside of ancient Jerusalem’s early first century walls, at which the crucifixion of Jesus is said to have occurred. Calvary and Golgotha are the English names for the site used in Western Christianity...
, flanked by cypressCypressCypress is the name applied to many plants in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is a conifer of northern temperate regions. Most cypress species are trees, while a few are shrubs...
es and stone crosses - Islamic fort of Almudaina d’Artà
- Town square of Plaça del Conqueridor
- Talaiotic village of Ses PaïssesSes PaïssesSes Païsses is a Bronze Age talayotic settlement on the southeastern outskirts of Artà in northwestern Majorca. It is one of the most important and best-preserved prehistoric sites in the Balearic Islands, although it is largely overgrown with woodland, mainly Quercus ilex , making it impossible to...
, a prehistoric TalaiotTalaiotThe talaiots, or talayots, are Bronze Age megaliths on the islands of Minorca and Majorca forming part of the Talaiotic Culture or Talaiotic Period. They date from the late second millennium and early first millennium BC. There are at least 274 of them, in, near, or related to Talaiotic settlements...
ic settlement - Talaiotic settlement on the estate of sa Canova de Morell near Colònia de Sant Pere
Beaches and bays
- S’Arenal de Sa Canova
- S’Estanyol
- S’Arenalet des Verger
- Sa Font Celada
- Cala Matzoc
- Cala Estreta
- Cala Mitjana
- Cala Torta
Markets
- Street marketStreet marketA street market is an outdoor market such as traditionally held in a market square or in a market town, and often held only on particular days of the week...
every Tuesday (except public holidays) on the Plaça del Conqueridor - Handicrafts market every Tuesday morning in the grounds of the Villa Na Batlessa
- Artà trade fairTrade fairA trade fair is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities...
on the second Sunday in September in the town
Festivals
- Saint AnthonyAnthony the GreatAnthony the Great or Antony the Great , , also known as Saint Anthony, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Abba Antonius , and Father of All Monks, was a Christian saint from Egypt, a prominent leader among the Desert Fathers...
(16 and 17 January) - Saint Antoni de Pàdua (also: Aprikot Festival, 13 June)
- Festival of Sant Salvador (5, 6 and 7 August)
Handicraft
In the region around Artà the craft of basketry (Obra de llatra) has been preserved, along with pottery, as one of the oldest craftCraft
A craft is a branch of a profession that requires some particular kind of skilled work. In historical sense, particularly as pertinent to the Medieval history and earlier, the term is usually applied towards people occupied in small-scale production of goods.-Development from the past until...
s on the island of Majorca. The remains of braided and woven plant fibres have been found in archaeological digs here. The main raw material in the western Mediterranean area is the native fan palm
Fan palm
Fan palm as a descriptive term can refer to any of several different kinds of palms in various genera with leaves that are palmately compound...
with its robust but flexible leaves. This one-metre-high species of palm occurs naturally on Majorca, especially between Manacor
Manacor
Manacor is a town and municipality on the Mediterranean island of Majorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is one of the biggest municipalities in Majorca. It has tourist areas like Porto Cristo, site of the famous Caves of Drach, and Calas de Mallorca. Manacor...
and Artà, and today is grown in large fields around the town of Artà.
The leaves of the fan palm are collected in the months of June and July and first dried in the sun. When they have become a yellowish-white colour, they are separated into finer strands and sorted qualitatively. Next, the higher-quality palm strands are soaked in a mixture of water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
and chlorine
Chlorine
Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...
, then sulphurised, which bleaches them further and makes them flexible enough to work.
The now soft leaves, called palmito, are then woven into the basic shape of the basket using fixed stems or leaves at right angles to one another. By re-drying the leaves, they contract slightly, giving the mesh extra stability and density. Using coloured leaves or special techniques elaborate patterns are created, sometimes woven into the basic mesh or sometimes into a second or even third layer.
The best-known products of the basket-weaving industry include baskets, hats, backpacks, bags, etc. From the waste material, stalks and leaf parts are broken down into fibres to make brooms and rope. The baskets are sold in many of the markets on the island.
Sons and daughters of the town
- Antonio de LiteresAntonio de LiteresAntonio de Literes was a Spanish composer of zarzuelas, a type of performance that mixes spoken word, song and dance...
(1673–1747), composer - Rafel Ginard Bauçà (1899–1976), author
- Pere Pujol, sculptor
Sources
- Artà, Information brochure with map, Ajuntament d’Artà, in cooperation with the Govern de les Illes Balears and the Consell de Majorca
- The other Majorca, Information brochure by the Consell de Mallorca 2006